Leveri
Listen to Tales of Tar-Leveri
Welcome to Leveri! During the golden age of tar and sailing ships, Leveri and Kakaravaara were seamen’s districts. Naturally, they also housed other professions, such as ship’s carpenters, wig, match and rope makers, and fortune-tellers. A sailor was recognisable by his straight white trousers, blue pea coat and fine cap with an accompanying silk ribbon.
“Leveri” was the sailors’ version of the name Liverpool. The British city was a juncture of the world trade, and was often the first port of call for ships leaving Oulu bearing tar and timber. Konrad Kivekäs, founder and editor of the Oulu-based newspaper Kaiku, wrote in 1904 that a seaman’s tongue couldn’t quite twist to the pronunciation of foreign place names like those of more learned men, so Constantinople became Nuupeli, Genoa became Jenna, Marseille Marseli, New York Nyorkki and Liverpool, Leveri. As an old sea dog might have quipped, ships aren’t steered with the tongue anyway.
Life in Leveri was by no means a bed of roses. While the men were at sea – which they could be for years at a time – women had to run the show. Some sailors had every other month’s pay sent to the missus, but there were those who left their wives in dire straits. One such scoundrel was a carpenter named Limmi, from Oulu, who sailed on the maiden voyage of the frigate Toivo to Liverpool in 1871. The Toivo was owned by the renowned merchant J. W. Snellman, who lived few blocks away from here, on the corner of Kirkkokatu and Albertinkatu.
Adulthood was by no means a requirement when scraping together ships’ crews. Jaakko Haataja of Kakaravaara, who also sailed on the Toivo, started as a cabin boy at the age of 12, and it is said that children as young as four could hold that position. In the strait of Öresund, first-timers would be tarred and shaved in a sort of line-crossing ceremony similar to that at the Equator. The tar would be the ship’s own – the same that was used for waterproofing the hull and ropes and for rust-proofing iron parts.
Sailors might carry home a seashell iridescent with the colours of the rainbow, beautiful fabrics or an exotic snakeskin wallet from their journeys to far-off lands. And of course they’d bring a whole bushel of tall tales about Liverpool, New York and other ports. Everyone knew the story of the Ouluite seaman Janne Sundberg, whose leg had been bitten off by a crocodile, or was it a scorpion?
Sources:
Kaukiainen, Yrjö 2000: Laiva Toivo, Oulu. SKS Kirjat.
Kivekäs K. 1904: “Merimiesten kieli”. Kaiku, 27/1/1904.
Mäkiprosi, Paula 2012: Kokkeja, kajuuttavahteja ja oppilaita. Miehistön nuorimmat jäsenet oululaisilla ja raahelaisilla purjealuksilla 1850–1860-luvuilla. (Pro gradu thesis)
Korhonen, Markus H. & Ukkola, Jukka 2005: Kukatin: Oulusa olleita. Radioasema Q.
Photo: The Finnish Heritage Agency
Address
Heinätorin koulun aita, Limingankadun ja Kirkkokadun kulma. Leverin rajalla.
Tales of Tar
Welcome to the golden era of the tar trade!
Tales of Tar from Oulu
The cultural-historical Tales of Tar route takes you to authentic tar trade locations in different parts of Oulu through the short stories written by author Katariina Vuori. The stories are based on authentic locations, events and persons from the golden era of the tar trade in Oulu. You can listen to or read the fascinating stories on your phone.
In the 1800s tar export made Oulu a buzzing international seaside market town. Tar produced in Finland, and mostly shipped from Oulu, kept most of the sailing boats floating in Europe and beyond. This significant time in Oulu history is filled with stories, events, and destinies.
Katariina Vuori, the author of the stories, says she loves the waterways and the maritime feel of Oulu and Northern Ostrobothnia – the coast is unique, unassuming and slightly rag-ged, often hidden behind shrubbery along the waterline.
“It was fascinating to get to explore, through these tar-scented stories, the way in which waterways have influenced local history, the city’s growth and people’s lives, everyone from commoners to the high and mighty. The tar hegemony involved much more than mere glamour and oriental spices – there was pain, disappointment, and even personal tragedies in the mix,” says the author about the project.
The Tales of Tar route starts from the boundary of Leveri and ends in Toppila harbour. However, each story is independent and can be experienced in any order.
Stories: Katariina Vuori
Translation in English: Eva Malkki
Voice: Sami Lalou
Sound design: Pasi Alatalo
Photos: Finnish Agency of Heritage
Production and implementation: Oulu Culture Foundation
The main funder: Council of Oulu Region
© Oulu Culture Foundation
Tales of Tar from around the Oulujoki river
The Tales of Tar route continues along the Oulujoki river with three stories centred around the events that took place in Muhos, Utajärvi and Vaala. You can find the stories by following the digital map of the Tales of Tar route. You can also read the stories on this website.
The Oulujoki river stories have been realised by Rokua UNESCO Global Geopark/Humanpolis Oy as part of the project “Geoparks – attractive sustainable travel destinations”, which is funded by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund and the Finnish Government.
Photos: Finnish Agency of Heritage
The stories are available in English, Finnish, Easy Finnish, and Swedish.